<p>Legacy won't get anyone in if he/she isn't highly qualified anyway. It merely helps highly qualified candidates to stand out a bit within the large pool of other highly qualified applicants. Be aware that there will be lots of applicants from your area and that there are legacies and then are legacies (meaning that many legacies not only have tip-top academic credentials but also have other "hooks" such as earning national awards, having stunning art portfolios, and being recruited athletes).</p>
<p>One significant advantage to being a legacy is that you can be confident that your application will get a thorough read, not that Williams is sloppy or inattentive in its admissions procedures. I might put it that they hate to turn down alumni children, but that's not exactly the right note. It's more that, in the midst of thousands of decisions, there's an extra layer of process with alumni children (and that's probably also true of a few other groups including faculty and staff children).</p>
<p>Contact Williams for an interview, which they offer to alumni children. Take all of your scores, a transcript, and a list of activities. You can go over them with an Admission officer who will act as something of a guidance counselor if you want, giving you some very broad sense of your chances at Williams, suggesting ways to improve your applications, and suggesting other colleges that might be a better fit if it does not look as though Williams will be in the cards. Williams doesn't want to have a bunch of angry alumni; these interviews are designed to prevent that. </p>
<p>If you use it well, having an interview will also give you a chance to learn more about Williams, which can help you to write an application that shows you are interested in Williams and that it would be a good fit. The best way to demonstrate interest is to commit yourself by applying Early Decision. </p>
<p>And, yes, applying Early Decision helps a good bit. If nothing else, there are fewer applicants and the applications can be read a bit more carefully; if yours is rich and deep, the details are likely to stand out and be appreciated. If you have desirable attributes, applying early helps ensure that you are the one who is selected for those attributes. You could be the tuba player and the rock climber, rather than positioning yourself where Admission might be asking "Here's another high stats applicant. This one is also a tuba player and a rock climber. Do we need another tuba player? Don't we already have a lot of rock climbers?" (That's not exactly how it works but I hope you get the idea. They are building a class, and they hope to squeeze lots of backgrounds, skills and experiences into it.)</p>
<p>Applying early should not make a difference with financial aid. If you get in Early Decision and cannot afford Williams with the package you are offered, the College will release you (or maybe offer more money if you demonstrate that there is a genuine shortfall in your unique family circumstances that makes Williams unaffordable). Whether it makes a subtle difference and they offer more to Regular Decision candidates to sway them, I don't know. The College, which is very well endowed, makes a commitment to meet 100% of demonstrated need and to be need blind, so, presumably, the funds are there regardless of when one applies. It is different from a situation where there is a lot of merit money and that money is often proffered early (and not offered again that year if the first candidate turns it down).</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>